When Birds Meet an Arrow
by Reina Grayson
Summary: Robin and Cardinal are going with Batman to Star City to help out Green Arrow. What happens when they wind up in something that is too over their heads. OC persent. Rating changed for chapter 6 on. Chapter 8 has one swear word. Just a warning.
1. Chapter 1

Well, the twins have met Wally and Kaldur, so now it's time for them to meet the newest archer in Star City.

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Chapter One

The twins had heard about Green Arrow, but when Dick hacked into the Batcomputer once before, they learned that he had a sidekick, Speedy. It was just as they were closing out the file on the Batcomputer that the Dark Knight himself came into the cave from the manor.

"Dick, Reiena; are you hacking my files…again?" Bruce asked as he noticed one file was still open.

"Well, we heard something on the Star City news saying that Ollie had a sidekick now, and we wanted to know more and who else would have that information but you." Reiena said, staring straight at her adoptive father.

"I know you two have hacked the League's files before, even after the mission with Barry and Wally." Bruce said as he looked from his daughter to his son.

"Okay, so we were curious about Speedy, can you blame a couple of eleven year olds." Dick said, not moving his blue eyes from Bruce's stare.

"Well, how about we go meet him, Ollie's having trouble in Star City with a villain I've faced a few times. I could use your help too." Bruce said as he walked over to the costume storage.

The twins looked at each other with grins and followed their mentor to change.

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Star City, Four Hours Later

The Batjet was the fast way to get to the west coast, and when they arrived, the twins saw how beautiful Star City was. The jet headed to the outskirts of the city, and they saw a mansion, which was as beautiful as Wayne Manor, but this one was more inland than their home. They went around back and landed on the unoccupied basketball court. The twins started to get up, but Batman only motioned for them the stay seated. About two seconds passed, and suddenly the Batjet started to fall. When the twins looked out, they saw that the court was moving down.

Soon enough they were in a large cave, and the twins were let out first. Just as both pre-teens landed on the cave floor, four arrows came flying right at them. Robin was a little freaked out at first, but soon enough Cardinal stepped infront of him and put up a fire shield. They thought the arrows would simply burn up once they hit the shield, but that was proven wrong as the tips of the arrows exploded, throwing the twins backward into one of the Batjet's rear tires.

"Speedy, what's going on down there?" A voice asked about five seconds later.

"We have intruders." The one named Speedy hollered as he had another arrow ready.

"Okay, that does it; I'll burn you for that." Cardinal hollered as she readied a fireball.

"Cardinal, stand down." Batman said as he landed right beside them.

"Didn't Speedy know we were coming Batman?" Robin asked, curious as to why Green Arrow's sidekick would attack them.

"Sorry, Robin; I forgot to tell him." The same voice from before said, and with that, its owner appeared by the jet.

"Wait, these two are Robin and Cardinal." Speedy asked as he got a good look at them. "Sorry guys, Ollie's forgetful when it comes to telling me things."

"It's alright, at least I could control the fire from the explosion." Cardinal said as she looked right at Speedy.

"So the rumors are true, you can control fire." Speedy stated.

"That wasn't obvious when I put up that fire shield." Cardinal snapped at the boy.

"Okay, now that that's over with, how about we talk about Deathstroke." Ollie stated.

"So, you were right, he's back up to his old tricks." Batman stated.

"Yes, and Speedy, you can lose the mask, I'm sure they know who you are." Ollie said, and with that, Speedy removed his mask.

"Hi, I'm…" Speedy started to say.

"Roy Harper, you were taken in by Ollie about a year ago." Robin said.

Roy was about to blow a gasket when he remembered that Batman was in the room. All he did was smile awkwardly and walked over to his guardian.

"Robin, Cardinal; it's alright to reveal your identities. I trust Ollie with my identity." Batman said and when the twins looked at their mentor, they saw his cowl was down. The two birds then removed their masked and revealed their blue eyes to their soon to be new friend.

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On the other side of Star City, Deathstroke was working on a plan to take out Green Arrow, but he had found out that Batman was in the city as well, so what he had needed to be modified greatly to accommodate for the Dark Knight being there. The mercenary knew their weaknesses and strengths, and knew he could take the two heroes.

"Green Arrow thinks that just because he brought in Batman that they can stop me, well, I'll show them, and complete the contract." Deathstroke said to himself.

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Back in Green Arrow's hideout, Roy was confounded by the fact that he had tried to blow up Richard and Reiena Grayson.

"No wonder you can do all those stunts as Robin." Was all Roy could say at first.

"Yea, I'm a natural born aerialist." Dick stated.

"Could I ask a question, how come you did fire dancing instead of being on the trapeze with him?" Roy asked, and Reiena just looked at the ground. "I'm sorry if…"

"No, it's alright; I was afraid of heights when I was little, when mom fell during practice, even though she landed in the net, I was still scared." Reiena said as she looked back up at Roy.

"How did you come to live with Ollie?" Dick asked, his curiosity hitting.

"I lived on a Native American reservation for a while after my father died in a forest fire, then when the chief of the reservation died, Ollie took me in." Roy answered.

Bruce and Ollie were looking over some plans and files when the three wards looked their way.

"Why don't you kids go into the manor, I'm sure the twins are hungry." Bruce said. It was at that time that the twins' stomachs started to rumble.

"Come on, I'll fix you guys something." Roy said, and with that, Dick and Reiena headed out after him.

"So, seems that Reiena still has some problems hearing about the circus." Ollie said.

"She had a nightmare a couple of nights ago. Both still have them, but they are not as bad as when I first took them in." Bruce said, then pulled his cowl back up to show he wanted to change the subject. "So, what's Deathstroke up to now?"

"I've found clues, but items were taken from three different buildings of Queen Industries. Not sure what anyone can make from the parts." Ollie stated.

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"Wow, this is going to be good. Now if I could just get the oven to light." Roy said after combining all the ingredients for chili into a pot. The 16 year old was getting agitated, when suddenly Reiena walked up beside him.

"How about I just cook it." The fire controller stated.

"How?" Roy questioned, not adjusted to the twins being there.

"I'll just light the gas, and I can keep the place from exploding." Reiena said, and with that, she created a small flame in her hand.

With that she moved the flame to the eye, and Roy turned on the gas again. This time the gas caught the flame and the pot was ready to cook.

"Thanks, Reiena." Roy said with a smile. "Your power is pretty handy."

"That's nothing, I can control fireworks too." Reiena stated.

"I'd love to see that one day." Roy said, a smile on his face.

The chili didn't take long, as Reiena was secretly keeping the fire very hot, and not even Dick realized it.

"Wow, that was…you little sneak." Roy stated

"Hey, I'm a bat, what do you expect." Was all Reiena stated and that's when both boys saw a smirk on her face.

Roy made sure the chili wasn't burned, and once it was alright, he got three bowls of it and set them on the table along with some crackers. The twins tried the chili, and both loved it.

"This is great Roy." Dick stated.

"At least it's not Ollie's his is so hot it could make your throat bleed." Roy said and with that, he laughed.

"Thank you Roy." Reiena stated, and with that she took a sip of water.

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Down in Green Arrow's base, he and Batman were watching the kids on the security cameras in the manor.

"Looks like Roy has a little crush." Ollie stated.

"He tries anything and he won't have a crush for long." Bruce said.

"You know you can't protect her forever, she will grow up." Ollie said, hoping to quail the anger building up in the Dark Knight.

"If anything does start between them, I'll be watching him carefully. Let's just get back to studying what Deathstroke is up to." Bruce said, and with that, he pulled the files back up that he was looking at.

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So, looks like Deathstroke is up to something, but who is he working for, and does he have something else up his sleeve. You'll just have to wait and see.


	2. Chapter 2

So, I want to say this right now, I decided to delete my Young Pokejustice. After thinking about it, I would reveal my strategy for the games.

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The Gotham trio had been in Star City for two days, and it was the second night that a lead came up. The two sets of heroes headed out and were staking out another of Ollie's company buildings. Batman and the twins were taking care of all points on the east side of the building, while Green Arrow and Speedy took west. Suddenly, there was movement on the Arrow Family's side, and they let the Dynamic Trio know. That's when the two teams put the League members' plan into action.

The twins and Speedy were teamed together as the twins had stealth and Speedy had the accuracy, so the young archer was leading the twins through the air vents to the area where he and his mentor had spotted the movement. While they went the high road, Batman and Green Arrow took a way that only Ollie knew about, since Roy hadn't been all over this part of Queen Industries.

The adults found the source of the movement, a shadowed figure. The figure stopped what it was doing on the computer it was sitting at, and stood up.

"Well, Batman, it's nice to see you here in Star City, but where are you children?" The figure stated, then questioned.

"Not getting anywhere near you, Deathstroke." Batman growled out, and the mercenary knew he struck a nerve.

Green Arrow had stayed hidden on a catwalk overlooking the room, and was ready to loose his arrow should Deathstroke make a move.

"I see, well, sooner or later they will meet me, but right now, it's just you, me, and Green Arrow if he wants to come out." Deathstroke said.

Knowing he was outed, Green Arrow came out of hiding, but he never released the tension on his bow.

"What business do you have stealing from Queen Industries?" The emerald archer asked

"Don't you know that mercenaries never reveal their client or reason?" Deathstroke said, and with that, he made a lunge for Batman.

The two started fighting hand-to-hand, and Green Arrow tried to fire one of his trick arrows to get Deathstroke away from Batman enough for the Dark Knight to get a good hit in. That worked, for a moment anyway, but Deathstroke recovered much too quickly for the two heroes' taste and went right back for

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The twins and Speedy had arrived at the room where the intruder was, and when they got out of the air vent, they heard laughter. Speedy stood in front of the twins to protect them, but they came out on each side of him, ready with bird-a-rangs and that's when they saw the shadows moving.

"So, you're here, it's nice to see you in person, little birds." A voice said.

The three young partners were ready for whatever this person could dish out, that is until they saw the intruder.

"So, you're Deathstroke, you don't look so special." Speedy taunted, but he was proven wrong when the villain was quick enough to disarm Speedy and break his bow.

This didn't stop the archer from using his trick arrows without his bow, but Deathstroke easily defeated him and even used one of the boy's net arrows against him. This left the twins to fight the villain, but they knew how dangerous he was, so they tried to call Batman.

"Robin to Batman…." The boy wonder started after pressing his comm. link. "Cardinal, the link's down."

"Signal jammer, I wanted to meet you two with no interruption." Deathstroke said, a bit of a disturbing tone in his voice.

The twins knew he meant business, seeing how he wanted them to be alone.

"Robin, Cardinal; get out of here." Speedy hollered as he struggled to get out of the net.

Deathstroke knew the teen was going to be trouble, and thus he located one of Speedy's gas arrows and activated it right in his face, and the archer was unconscious. The twins were shocked at this villain, but stood their ground as he got closer. Deathstroke was walking casually, but out of nowhere, he sent a kick at Robin.

The boy wonder was able to dodge it, but Deathstroke was able to maneuver his kick so that it hit Cardinal instead. The young fire controller was thrown across the room from the force of the kick and hit the wall. Robin went after the man that hurt his sister, and found that this villain was a pretty even match for him. The two fought, and that's when Cardinal was back on her feet after that kick. She saw her brother fighting with Deathstroke, she ran over and join him. The twins were moving fluidly into attacks one after the other on this villain.

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Batman and Green Arrow were fighting with Deathstroke very hard, but the more they fought, the more Batman saw something was different. The mercenary's movements were too well defined, and his transition between attacks was flawless. The Dark Knight couldn't figure out what was going on, but when one of GA's arrows detonated right on Deathstroke's arm, it was proven that this was not Deathstroke.

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Every few moments, one of the twins would look over and make sure that Speedy was alright. Deathstroke knew that they were worried about their friend, and so he pulled out what looked like a laser gun and pointed it at the archer. Robin saw it, and jumped infront of Speedy just as Deathstroke fired the gun. Cardinal tried to get there in time to push Robin out of the way, but the laser hit.

It wasn't until she saw that Robin was alright that she thought Deathstroke was bluffing. Cardinal went right for the man, but the thing that stopped her was when Deathstroke pushed a button on his suit, and Robin fell to his knees in pain.

"ROBIN!" Cardinal shouted as she ran over to him and tried to figure out what was wrong.

This was just the distraction the mercenary/villain needed as he used her concern for her brother to get her off guard. Deathstroke casually walked up behind her and gave her a simple karate chop right at the pressure point between the neck and shoulder and she fell unconscious. The villain then turned off whatever he had done to Robin and karate chopped him as well.

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The three men had been fighting for about five minutes, when suddenly, Batman picked up on something. There was movement behind Deathstroke, and that's when a shocked look appeared on his face, there were now two Deathstrokes standing there. There was one difference, this new Deathstroke had an unconscious set of twins, one under each arm.

"I see you are surprised, but right now I have to get going, although I will leave you a little present. Young Speedy is somewhere in this building, but that's not all." The 'new' Deathstroke said, and with that he slung Robin over his shoulder and activated a button.

The Deathstroke that Batman and Green Arrow had been fighting stopped moving, and his mask came off; revealing a countdown time starting at 15 seconds. Once the trap was set, Deathstroke left out with the twins and left the two League heroes and Speedy (still trapped in the net in another room) to be caught in the impending explosion.

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So, Deathstroke has the twins and has left Batman, Green Arrow and Speedy to be caught in an explosion.

What are the mercenary's plans for the twins. and Mala, I know you already know part of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Batman and Green Arrow got out of the room, but they couldn't leave Speedy in the building with an adult human sized bomb. Batman knew that Speedy had a comm link and pulled up his own holo computer to locate it. Green Arrow was always getting onto Batman about his paranoia, but right now, with the twins in Deathstroke's hands and Speedy left in the building, probably unconscious, the emerald archer didn't say anything.

"He's three rooms away, we have to get there and get out." Batman said as he ran ahead of Green Arrow.

It wasn't long before they found the room and busted inside. They found Speedy trapped in a net and asleep. Green Arrow started to undo the net, but Batman grabbed the boy and ran for the window. Green Arrow figured time was up and followed. Once both League members were in the air, they each launch a grapple in their own way and swung away to the nearby building and landed on the roof.

Just as they landed, the bomb exploded, and took out the entire floor of the Queen Industries building. Now that they were safe, Batman placed Speedy on the concrete roof, and Green Arrow took one of his regular arrows and cut the net. As the net was removed, Speedy started to stir.

"What…Where are Robin and Cardinal." Speedy asked as he stood up and noticed the twins were not there.

"Deathstroke took them." Batman said, and with that he tried to keep himself from breaking anything in his reach.

"What happened?" Green Arrow asked.

"We got to one of the rooms there was movement, we saw Deathstroke…"

"The real one." Batman interrupted; a growl literally in his voice.

"He said a few things, then was quick enough to get my bow away from me, and as we fought for a minute, but Deathstroke grabbed a net arrow from me and I was caught. Robin tried to call you, Batman, but when they realized it failed, Deathstroke said that it was a signal jammer, he didn't want to be interrupted. When he said that, I hollered for them to get out of there, but he used one of my knockout gas arrows on me. After that, I don't know." Speedy stated.

Both archers were expecting Batman to disappear, but he didn't. The Dark Knight may know Gotham like the back of his hand, but Star City might as well have been a foreign country. All he did was walk to the edge of the roof and look about at Green Arrow and Speedy.

"They have comm links, and if those are gone, there are trackers in their utility belts. I'm sure you have tracking software?" Batman said as the archers walked over to meet him.

"Yea, but can you track your tech on my computers?" Green Arrow questioned.

Batman didn't say anything as he pulled out a new grapple and launched it. Speedy knew Batman was worried, but he didn't know he could live up to his name so well. Green Arrow knew the twins before he took Speedy in, but even the emerald archer knew not to mess with Batman when he was separated from the twins. The elder Archer then grabbed two grapple arrows from his quiver and shot them, handing one of the ropes to Speedy. The three heroes then swung off into the night to return to Queen Manor.

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She woke up in a bed, and was calm at first, until her memories started to return. When they were back, the girl jumped out of the bed and went straight to the door. Before she opened it, she checked for her belt. Surprisingly, it was missing.

"Dang it, Batman's going to ground me for a month." The girl said, but still headed out of the room. "At least I still have my fire power." She whispered to herself.

The young girl started walking within the shadows through whatever building she was in, and when she arrived at a big room, shock hit her hard.

"ROBIN!" The girl hollered, seeing that her brother was tied to a chair. When he heard his name he looked up, and that's when she noticed that he was gagged.

"Don't worry my dear Cardinal, he's alright; and he will stay that way as long as you do what I say." A familiar voice said, filling the room.

"What did that laser do to him, he was fine until you pressed that button in your suit?" Cardinal said as a flame appeared in her left hand.

"It's a wonderful little device. That laser injected nanoscopic probes into young Robin's bloodstream, and when activated, they will destroy him." The voice said, and Deathstroke walked out from the shadows.

Cardinal didn't know what to think, that if she had made it in time, this villain would be using her against Robin; or if Speedy had been hit, then all three of them would have been captured. There was so much running through her mind that Deathstroke noticed the pieces were falling into place.

"If I do help you, I have your word that Robin will be alright?" Cardinal questioned, which gained muffled protest from the boy wonder.

"As long as you follow my every order." Deathstroke stated.

"Fine." Cardinal said.

Robin couldn't believe she would agree, but then he knew she was doing it to keep him safe. Deathstroke walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good, now get some rest, you'll get your first assignment tomorrow afternoon." The mercenary said, and with that he started to walk out of the room. "You may ungag Robin if you wish to talk to him. He will be moved to a cell by the time you wake up."

Deathstroke was out of the room, and Cardinal did walk over to remove her brother's gag. He didn't say a word, but Cardinal knew he was bummed that she agreed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk losing you, I've lost so much, and you're my last link to our old life." Cardinal said.

"Who knows what he will ask you to do, what if he wants you to kill someone.?" Robin said, dread in his voice.

"If he really knows us, then he knows I'd struggle with that order. We got into the hero life to protect the innocent." Cardinal said as she looked at the ground.

"You'll figure out something, I know you will. Right now, we just have to go along with this." Robin said. "I'll talk to you when he allows it."

Cardinal knew that she couldn't leave her brother, but she also knew that whatever Deathstroke had planned, she would have to be at full strength. Reluctantly, she left Robin where he was and returned to the room she awoke in.

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The Next Morning

In Green Arrow's headquarters, Batman was furiously working at the computer to get a lock on Cardinal or Robin's utility belt but he had been at it for hours, since they got back last night. It was to no avail, and that just put the Dark Knight more on edge.

Roy was still kicking himself, well after he got up from a fitful sleep. Sure he slept some, but when he was awake, the young archer was mentally kicking himself for not trying harder to get out of that net before Deathstroke rendered him unconscious. He had only been around the twins for a couple of days, but now, they were captured, and who knew what was happening to them.

"Batman, you have to get some rest. How many times have other members of the League seen you get like this when the twins were abducted, whether it be in their civilian identity or as heroes." Green Arrow said as he entered the cave.

"I have to find them Ollie, Deathstroke is the most dangerous villain I've ever faced; even more so than Joker. Can't rest until Dick and Reiena are out of his grasps and back home." Batman, who was now revealed to have his cowl down said as he looked from the computer screen to Ollie.

Even though he was Batman, the Dark Knight didn't see it coming when the emerald archer activated a knockout gas arrow. Roy was surprised, but after seeing the shape Bruce was in, he knew it had to be done.

"You know he's going to be mad when he wakes up." Roy remarked.

"I'm sure he'll want to skewer me with one of my regular arrows, but it is for his own good. The twins have seen him before after he exhausted himself looking for them, and they were depressed for about three weeks." Ollie said as he lifted Bruce up and started out of the cave to get him into a soft bed.

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That Night

Cardinal woke up on her own and saw that there was a new costume hanging in the room she was occupying. Knowing that Deathstroke might hurt her brother if she didn't change to it, she went and put it on. It was the same style as her own outfit, but this one had all the colors in darker shades, and there was no cape.

Just as she was in the new outfit, there was a knock at the door. Putting on her own mask, she looked as the door was opened. Deathstroke came in, and the young fire controller could feel that he was smirking.

"It is time for your first assignment. There are a few more things I need before my work here in Star City is complete. I need you to go to Wayne Enterprises here and steal a new laser emitter they are developing. It is small enough that you can get in, get it and be out in less than ten minutes." Deathstroke said. "I'm sure your fire powers will come in handy."

Cardinal nodded that she understood her assignment and found that she had a holo computer in her glove just like Robin had. She looked through the files already in the hard drive and found the one for Wayne Enterprises.

Deep inside she hated what she was doing, but she knew that if she didn't she might lose her last bloodline family. With a heavy sigh, she headed out to rob her father.


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce awoke and after realizing where he was, headed down to Ollie's cave.

"Hey Bru…" Was all the Emerald Archer said before the Gotham hero punched him in the face.

"So, that's how you deal with someone trying to help you." Roy said, just leaning against the computer, watching the whole thing.

Just as Bruce was about to try and scare Roy, his phone went off.

"There's a break in at the Wayne Enterprises here in Star City." With that said, Bruce walked over to his costume.

"Ollie and Roy didn't say anything as they went to get ready themselves to help out the Dark Knight.

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It didn't take long to get to Wayne Enterprises. Once they were on the roof of the building, Batman used his codes to bypass security and when they got to R&D, they saw movement through the glass. Upon closer inspection, the heroes realized the intruder was just a child, judging by the height.

Green Arrow and speedy stayed where they were and each readied a different trick arrow to capture the child. Batman decided to approach and engage the thief. "Stop right there." He said and the child did.

"Turn around with your hands where I can see them, then step into the light."

The intruder did as Batman said and that's when all three heroes stood there stunned.

"Cardinal, you're alright, but what are you doing here?" Speedy said, his voice betraying his disbelief.

Cardinal stood there and was about to answer him, when the new comm. Link in her ear activated.

"Not a word, or your brother will experience my nanoscopic probes again." Deathstroke said. "Attack them."

The young fire controller obeyed the order and went after Speedy first as he was the easiest of the three to fight. The young archer was surprised that Cardinal would just all of a sudden turn on him and the man that was like a father to her. He was trying his best to fight back, but he didn't have Cardinal's training, so he was taken down rather quickly.

Batman didn't engage Cardinal as he was shocked at what he was witnessing. The young fire controller then went after Green Arrow, but he did have more skill than his protégé, so it took a little more time. Batman was the only one left, and when Cardinal looked at him, the Dark Knight noticed the whites of her mask moved to reveal sadness as she headed for an air vent and escaped.

Green Arrow and Speedy were getting up after their beatings and were courious as to what just as Batman was not going after Cardinal. Speedy couldn't read Batman as his mentor couldn but he did figure that the Dark Knight was having some conflicting emotions. After a couple of minutes, Batman went over and inspected the area Cardinal have been searching and discovered a small prototype laser was missing.

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Cardinal had returned after escaping from her father and allies, but she felt horrible that she attacked them. Heading into her room, the young fire controller knew she and her brother would be punished, that is if she hadn't gotten what Deathstroke had sent her for. Cardinal then headed out and went to meet her captor to give him his prize.

It wasn't long, since she had memorized the map of the base. Deathstroke was standing infront of a large screen, and when Cardinal looked at the screen, it was the fight from her point of view. It dawned on her that this was how he knew she was hesitate to attack the arrows and Batman.

"Good job retrieving the laser, but you should have attacked Batman before you left." Deathstroke stated.

"He was so stunned that it was me stealing that I had plenty of time to escape." Cardinal answered.

"Well, you will have another chance to attack your former mentor." Deathstroke said.

As soon as the words 'former mentor' left his lips, something in Cardinal snapped and she attacked Deathstroke. The mercenary was anticipating this, and was able to dodge the kick coming his way. The two fought, but it wasn't long before Deathstroke moved to push the same button that had activated the nanoscopic probes, and Cardinal just stopped in her tracks.

"Very good. On your next mission, you will fight Batman, or Robin will suffer." Deathstroke said as he relaxed his posture and his hand was away from the activation button. "Now, it will take some time before you new weapon is ready to use, so I will allow you some time with your brother."

All Cardinal did was nod her head, as she knew that if she said anything, Deathstroke might torture Robin. Once he told her where she could find her other half, Cardinal was dismissed and headed to her brother.

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The heroes returned to Queen Manor and Batman immediately pulled up the information on the item number that was located on the drawer the prototype was missing out of. Once he saw what the item was being developed for, his thoughts turned to the reason that Cardinal would steal this.

"Bruce, what if she's working for Deathstroke?" Roy said, having changed out of his costume.

"**IF** she is, then she's being forced to. Before you two got back up after she defeated you, she looked at me with sadness in her expression." Bruce said, pulling down his cowl.

"Whatever is going on, we will get to the bottom of this, and get her and Robin back." Ollie said.

"That's it." Bruce said, remembering the bond the twins share. "Deathstroke must be threatening Dick to keep Reiena in line. The only question is: what is he doing to Dick."

With that figured out, the three heroes starting working through any and all scenarios they could come up with.

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Cardinal arrived at the area Deathstroke had told her and that's when she saw Robin in a cell.

"Robin.!" Cardinal said as she ran to the cell.

"Hey sis, so what did you have to do?" Robin asked as he walked up to the cell bars.

"I had to steal something from the Wayne Enterprises branch here." Cardinal said, and Robin could hear it in her voice that she hated doing it. "I have to fight Batman the next time I see him, or those probes in you will be activated. I don't know what to do." Cardinal said as her voice started to break.

"Sis, listen, we will find a way out of this, I don't know how, but we can do anything we are the Gotham twins." Robin said, not sure himself what they could do to get away from someone with such advanced equipment at his disposal, and to be honest, the boy wonder thought that Deathstroke was criminally insane.

"I know we need to see each other a lot, but I don't want him to think we are working out a plan of escape. I can't lose you; and I won't, not if I can help it." Cardinal said, and with that she left her brother where their captor had put him and returned to her room.

Unknown to the twins, Deathstroke had a camera on the cell, but there was no audio, so he didn't hear anything. He knew that as long as the nanoscopic probes were in the boy wonder, his sister would do anything to keep him safe.

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A bit shorter than usual, but I have a great idea for the next chapter, so I wanted a bit of suspense.


	5. Chapter 5

Cardinal didn't sleep much that night; in fact she never closed her eyes. Being a Bat meant a lot of late nights, and the last time she was up this late was the night her parents were killed. The young heroine just sat on her bed, and the night's events were repeatedly playing in her mind. She attacked her new friend and his mentor, and stole from her own mentor. The one thing that kept appearing from the memories was what Deathstroke threatened when she returned.

_"Very good. On your next mission, you will fight Batman, or Robin will suffer." Deathstroke said as he relaxed his posture and his hand was away from the activation button. "Now, it will take some time before you new weapon is ready to use, so I will allow you some time with your brother."_

It was so hard to agree, but Robin was her only blood family left, and she couldn't risk his life. The two of them mentioned coming up with a plan, and the fire controller was sure that Deathstroke had files on the probes, and she knew she had to get those files to her father somehow.

"I have to find those files." Cardinal said, softly but with determination. Luckily she still had her gauntlet computer with her, so she hacked the cameras in her room, and once she was sure the video loop was in place, she headed out to locate the main computer in this strange base.

Forty Minutes Later

Cardinal had decided that she would get the files closer to time for Deathstroke to send her on the next assignment. Having that planned, after getting a good mental picture of the area, the young heroine returned to her room.

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Thirty Hours Later

Roy had fallen asleep in the cave, so Ollie woke him up enough to get him to bed, since they had been at it nonstop for over a day. There had been no movement from Deathstroke and no sightings of Cardinal, but the Dark Knight was not going to give up. He had been wondering what Deathstroke was threatening to do to Robin to keep his sister in line.

"Ugggg, I'm an idiot." Batman said to himself. "How could I forget about security cameras." Just as the last two words came out, Ollie had returned.

Figure something out?" The Emerald Archer asked.

"I need access to Queen Industries security cameras." Batman stated.

"Sure." Ollie said and he went to work on the keyboard.

It wasn't long before the exact day Batman wanted was on the screen. The two leaguers watched and when Deathstroke shot the laser gun, they had even more questions after Robin looked okay. However, when the mercenary pressed a button on the arm of his suit; Ollie thought Batman was going to punch the computer screen, but everything was making sense now.

"Whatever was in that laser…is how he's keeping Cardinal in line. She can't stand to see Robin in pain."

"If that laser had hit Roy, then all three of them might have been taken." Ollie said, thinking about his ward.

"We need to figure out exactly what was in that laser, and only then we can find a way to help Robin."

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Cardinal had gotten to the computer room she found the day before, and was working on breaking through Deathstroke's firewalls, using her gauntlet computer. She was using some of the hacking skills she had seen her brother use, and after she was through the fire wall, she had no problem locating all the files she needed. Once they were downloaded, she quadruple encrypted the whole computer so that only the Dark Knight could get through. The reason for that was that incase Deathstroke got ahold of her gauntlet computer, then he couldn't find out what she was up to.

Just then, her comm link activated. "Time for you next mission, report to the mission room." Deathstroke said.

With that said and done, Cardinal left the room and headed to where she was told.

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Roy hadn't been upstairs long, and he was now awake, since he got about four hours of sleep in the cave before being ushered upstairs. When he arrived in the cave, he saw Batman repeatedly watching the part of a security video where Robin had been shot with a laser gun.

"That could have been me…wait, nothing happened to Rob."

"Keep watching." Was all the Dark Knight said.

As the young archer turned his attention back to the screen, he saw Deathstroke press a button and Robin fall to his knees in pain. Roy couldn't help but punch a nearby practice dummy.

"There was nothing you could have done, Roy. I never expected you would face him alone, so you were not properly trained to deal with a mercenary like him." Ollie said.

"We'll get them back, Roy; even if I have to beat Deathstroke within an inch of his life." Batman stated.

"It's time you and I got some rest, Bats." Ollie said, but Batman didn't budge. "Do I have to gas you again.

With that little threat uttered, Batman got up; only because he knew that his colleague would do it for his own good.

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Cardinal arrived in the mission room and Deathstroke was waiting in the middle, holding the laser prototype in his hand.

"Tonight you will return to Queen Industries and steal a few componets for me." Deathstroke stated. "Remember, you will fight Batman this time, or Robin will suffer."

The mercenary then walked over to her and grabbed her left arm. She didn't resist and he strapped the laser to her wrist.

"Why didn't you get the components the night we met." Cardinal snipped, a bit of anger in her voice.

"That was just phase one of my plan, and you and your brother were part of that. On another note, if you ever speak to me like that again, it won't be you that gets punished." Deathstroke remarked.

Cardinal's attitude changed and she the listened to the list of items that were required, and after he made sure she had the list right, Deathstroke dismissed her. As she headed out to head to Queen Industries, Cardinal couldn't help but think of excellent ways to torture Deathstroke when Robin was out of harm's way. She knew her father was going to feel the same way when he saw the files she had.

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can't believe I didn't upload this chapter, well stay tuned, as chapter 6 is done as well, and will be up right behind this one.


	6. Chapter 6

I know that this story is kind of a rip on teen titans episode apprentice, but hey, I couldn't think of anything else.

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Two Hours Later

Roy was keeping an eye and ear on things in the cave, when all of a sudden, there was a signal of a break in at Queen Industries. The young archer started up the stairs, but was greeted by Ollie and Bruce.

"What do you have, Bruce, bat hearing?" Roy sarcastically questioned.

Bruce didn't say anything as he headed over to his Batsuit. Ollie just looked at Roy and the younger of the two archers knew that this was not a good time. The two Star City heroes followed Batman's lead and got ready to head out.

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Forty Minutes Later

At the Queen Industries building where the alarm sounded, Cardinal was looking around for all the components that Deathstroke had requested, and she did have just about everything, except for three sets of computer files. She had hooked her gauntlet computer into the main computer in the room and was proceeding with the download, and it was going pretty fast, as she was on the last one when her bat senses kicked in and she knew her father was there.

"Step away from that computer, Cardinal." Speedy said; an arrow ready to be released.

"We figured part of it out; what is Deathstroke threatening with your brother." Batman said, stepping out.

"We can help him if we know what's going on." Green Arrow added, trying to get Cardinal to open up to them.

Cardinal didn't say anything as she let the last file finish downloading. The young fire controller then turned around after unhooking her computer, the sadness from before was on her mask.

_"Remember, you will fight Batman, or your brother will experience the pain from my probes. You will also use that laser." _Deathstroke said into Cardinal's ear.

Cardinal formed two fireballs and threw them, aiming for the archers. The two dodged the fire and let loose their arrows. Cardinal easily dodged them and that's when her face went from a sad expression to one of determination.

"It's Batman I want." Was all she said before she created two fire eskrima sticks.

"Batman?" Green Arrow asked.

"Stay out of this, obviously this is another task assigned to her." Batman said as he walked up and got into a fighting stance.

Cardinal took the first move, and went for a regular jump kick. Batman dodged the attack, but even the Dark Knight didn't see it coming that she twisted around and her left eskrima stick made contact with his right shoulder, singeing his suit and marking the skin under it. The Gotham hero moved back to assess the wound, and when he saw it would be alright; Batman went to kick Cardinal. The two were soon engaged in hand to hand combat, and it looked like nothing was getting done, until Cardinal tried to punch Batman in the stomach, and he grabbed her wrist.

The young heroine was struggling to get free, but Batman was able to twist her arm behind her back and she was temporarily immobilized. What Batman didn't see was that her left hand went for her belt and she dropped smoke pellets. With her father/mentor coughing, Cardinal was able to slip her right hand out of the glove and escaped through an open window. Speedy followed her. She stopped at the edge of the roof and turned to her new friend.

"_I thought I told you to use that laser."_ Deathstroke said into Cardinal's ear, and she knew that if she hadn't her brother was in terrible danger. The fire controller fired the laser on her left wrist.

The young archer was able to dodge the first one, but didn't see the second one coming. It hit him right in the face, but when he felt he was alright, he knew he was in trouble.

When the young fire controller saw what the laser had done, she was horrified at the thought of what she had just done. Speedy looked at her, and that's when he saw tears coming from under her mask, and as all Bats do, Cardinal disappeared. It wasn't long before Batman and Green Arrow joined the young archer.

"Are you alright." Green Arrow asked.

"Whatever Deathstroke did to Robin, I think Cardinal did to me." Speedy said. "It's like she didn't realize that's what the laser would do."

"He didn't tell her, and now she's put you in danger." Batman said, his voice seething in anger, all of that anger toward Deathstroke.

"Hey, Bats, what's that in your hand?" Green Arrow questioned, noticing something clutched tightly.

"It's one of her gloves… wait a minute; this looks like it has a computer in it, like the ones the twins use." Batman said and with that, the three heroes once again headed back to the cave, since there was nothing more they could have done.

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It only took Cardinal 45 minutes to get back to the base, and she didn't even stop to take a breath as she headed to the main room. Deathstroke was waiting there, and he seemed to be happy, that is until he noticed that his errand girl was missing her computer glove.

"What happened to your glove?" Deathstroke questioned.

"It must have slipped off when I was fighting Batman." Cardinal said, acting as if she didn't know it was missing.

"You just lost the most important part of my plan." Deathstroke said, and with that, he pushed the button.

Cardinal tensed, and it was even worse when she could hear Robin's pained screams, it was only then that she saw him struggling behind Deathstroke. She never saw him there, but then she remembered Speedy.

"Stop this, NOW!" Cardinal shouted

"No, you will be taught a lesson this time.

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They were all in the cave, when all of a sudden, Roy screamed in pain. Ollie was by his side as fast as Flash, and Bruce was sure it was the same pain he saw Robin in on the security footage.

"There has to be a way to stop this." Ollie said, as he picked up Roy and got him to his small med bay.

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Cardinal didn't know what to do, the thought of Roy in the same pain as she was seeing Robin in was infuriating her.

"So my dear, are you going to go back and get those files?" Deathstroke teasingly said.

"No way, I'm done helping you, and I'm going to make sure you never hurt my brother, or Speedy anymore, you psychotic bastard." Cardinal stated, and with that, she took off running right toward her tormentor and gave him a punch to the face then went with a leg swipe.

This disoriented the mercenary, and when he was flat on his back, Cardinal readied a fireball and aimed it perfectly. When she released it, the energy went right for the button on Deathstroke's arm and destroyed the tech. Robin was free of pain, and Cardinal hoped that so was Speedy.

"Language, my dear, but you **will **pay for destroying that device." Deathstroke said, and with that he jumped up and went right after the young heroine.

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Bruce was hard at work on decrypting the files he had discovered in the computer of the glove that his daughter left behind. Roy was out of pain, so the Gotham hero figured that Deathstroke had disabled the device that activated whatever was causing the pain. Ollie was making sure that his ward was okay, and afterward, the two archers noticed that Bruce had gotten through only half of the encryption.

"Why is this so protected?" Roy questioned.

"She did it incase Deathstroke got ahold of the glove. Whatever she found, she didn't want him to know what she had." Bruce said. "That was one of the first things I taught them after they started retrieving files."

"While those are decrypting, is there any idea what she got off the computers at Queen Industries.?" Ollie asked.

"Some files for nanoscopic probes, are you guys doing anything with that." Bruce stated then questioned.

"Just for medical use, they are only used in surgery." Ollie said, thinking back to the research.

"Slade must be trying to perfect his version, so they must deteriorate." Bruce said, looking back over the information, then the computer indicated that the decryption was done, and that's when dread hit Bruce.

"Oh man, he really is insane, you two weren't kidding."

_Batman has two sidekicks now, and from what I have read, they have the skills to be trained as my apprentices. I am worried about them listening to me, so I am going to develop a way to control one by using the other as collateral. The two of them seem to be more than just friends and sidekicks, I believe they are siblings as the resemblance is uncanny._

_I am thinking of using Robin against his sister, since she seems to have a unique fire ability. The only problem is that they know Gotham too well, so they could easily find me. Maybe if I go to another hero's town, that hero would have to call in Batman if I made enough trouble._

Bruce looked like he was ready to gut Deathstroke, but it wasn't until he read the next file that he really was having an internal fight about his 'No Kill' policy.

_Now that my nanoprobes have been introduced into Robin's blood stream, Cardinal is very obedient. I'm pleased with that. The only problem is that she was reluctant to attack her former mentor. I told her that she would attack him next time, or Robin would suffer dearly._

_She did manage to bring me the laser prototype from Wayne Enterprises, although I am a little curious as to how she was able to get through security so fast, even with her hacking skills._

_Either way, she will have to use the laser after I modify it to shoot the same nanoscopic probes that are in her brother. She will not be told of the laser's intention, but I do hope she uses it in her fight against Batman._

The second file was a map to and of Deathstroke's base, which Batman downloaded into his own gauntlet computer.

All three heroes were mad, but neither archer was ready to say anything, especially with Batman as angry as he was. The Dark Knight was out of the chair in no time, but not before he checked the last of the three files that were encrypted. This one was the most helpful of all, a complete readout of how to remove the probes from any human body without damaging anything.

The formula was all there, so Ollie and Bruce went to work typing in the instructions for the computer in their absence. With that started, the heroes headed out to save the twins from Deathstroke.

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so, who thinks that Deathstroke is in for it. But the real question should be, is Cardinal or Batman going to be the one to make this supervillain pay, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cardinal was giving this fight her all, and not even Robin could believe what he was seeing. Sure his sister had attacked anyone that messed with him, but there was something different this time, it's like she was possessed and wouldn't stop till Deathstroke was taken down.

"You really think you have what it takes to defeat me, little girl." Deathstroke taunted.

"I can beat you, it doesn't matter my skill level, I have something you don't." Cardinal said as she dodged a kick from her brother's tormentor then formed her fire eskrima sticks.

"Oh, I know you well enough my dear, and there is nothing you can do that will surprise me." Deathstroke said, pulling out a boa staff.

Cardinal didn't say a word as she went after him, and she was really giving it her all. She knew that she needed to stall long enough for Batman, Green Arrow and Speedy to get there. Deathstroke was amazed with her agility and even some of her moves, which were not normal for the Dark Knight himself, but then again he wasn't an 11 year old. Cardinal had managed to get behind him and singe the back of his special suit and there was a large opening.

The fight continued, and Robin was watching the whole thing from the chair he was tied to. There had to be some weakness in his defense, but right now, the boy wonder wasn't seeing it. He struggled to try and get out of the rope that was used to tie him up, and it seems that Deathstroke had knot tying down.

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The three heroes made their way to the area on the Star City map that Cardinal had gotten to them where Deathstroke's base was, and when they saw it, they knew there was going to be trouble.

"Speedy, you stay out here." Green Arrow said.

"No way, if he uses Robin against Batman, then he's also using me against you. I'd rather take my chances and save Robin and Cardinal." Speedy said, and Ollie knew he was right.

Batman was not going to argue, since he was too concerned with the twins, and getting the monster that was torturing them. The league members couldn't believe what kind of risk the 16 year old was taking, but even though they were only together for a couple of days Speedy started feeling like their older brother.

The three of them headed inside and followed the schematic that Cardinal left for them.

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Cardinal was beat up, but she was still fighting; and Robin was still trying his hardest to get free. Deathstroke has made sure the boy wonder would not get free and kept the chair away from any edges that he might use.

The young heroine was really giving it her all, but had several cuts and bruises already showing in spots where her suit was torn. Deathstroke had many burns but nothing he couldn't handle. The fight continued, and Deathstroke was actually amazed that Cardinal was still going, even though she was this exhausted. Something didn't fit right with him, and then he figured it out.

"What did you leave with the Bat besides the files I needed?" Deathstroke said as he pulled out a weapon, and Cardinal froze.

"You want to know, well since Batman's probably decrypted it and checked everything, I'll tell you. It was your journals about us and your nanoscopic probes, along with a schematic of this building and its exact location." Cardinal said as she relaxed enough to feel proud of what she had done.

"Why you little brat, I give you access to skills not even the Bat could teach you, and you betray me like this."

"Oh please, you really thought I would betray my mentor, he's the one that helped us when we needed it the most. You must be out of your mind!" Cardinal said as she created a fireball and then turned it into a sword.

Behind his full face mask, Deathstroke smiled, and drew his own sword. The two were going at it, but what Cardinal didn't know what that the weapon he had drawn earlier was the same laser that infected her brother with the nanoscopic probes. When the mercenary saw his opportunity, he fired it right at her stomach, which had a small cut from earlier in the fight.

Cardinal backed away, and was surprised that he would use that when she destroyed the controls, well that is until he moved his finger to his opposite arm and press a button. Soon enough, Robin and Cardinal were screaming in pain.

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They were close to the center room, when all of a sudden Speedy fell to his knees. Green Arrow was at his side, and Batman was about to say something, when he heard two different screams coming from the direction they were heading.

"Speedy, you have to stay here, since those probes have activated, you are not in any condition to fight." Green Arrow stated.

The young archer was about to get up, but the pain was too intense, so he just nodded. Batman and Green Arrow then ran in the direction of the other screams, and busted into the room that was blocked by two metal doors.

"So, you found me, how cute, I can't believe I didn't know she had those files. Oh well, now I can finish off your kids and you together." Deathstroke said, and when Batman looked around, he saw Robin tied to a chair, in pain.

The Dark Knight then located Cardinal and she was on her knees, also in pain. Something inside Batman snapped, and he went right after the mercenary. Deathstroke's moves were somewhat sluggish, but that was working in Batman's favor. It wasn't until he dodged a punch that Batman saw several opening in Deathstroke's suit, and that he was also covered in burns. Seeing his opportunity, Batman tried attacking the burn marks.

While Batman was busy with the mercenary, Green Arrow went to check on Cardinal.

"Hey, you're going to be alright." Green Arrow assured the fire controller.

"Controls…..right arm." Was all Cardinal could say through the pain. "What…..about….Speedy?"

The emerald archer figured it out, yet before he attacked, he turned back to her. "He's here, but the probes are active in him also."

As Green Arrow went to try and hit the control that was causing the twins and his own ward pain, but just as he was ready to fire, a bullet came right at him. The emerald archer was able to dodge the bullet and protect Cardinal, but the arrow fired at a wild angle and activated in mid air. Green Arrow decided to try and disarm the control through hand to hand combat.

The twins were watching the whole thing, and wanted to get into the fight, but that was not so easy with them being in so much pain. Cardinal did try to get to her brother to at least untie him. It took about five minutes as she stumbled over to him, and used all her concentration to burn the rope holding Robin to the chair. Once he was free, he tried to relieve the pain, but those probes were not going to stop until Deathstroke pushed the button, or the control was destroyed.

"You two really thought you could stop me. Once I defeat you and take your precious twins so I can train them, I will be unstoppable and so will they." Deathstroke said as he raised his arm to punch Batman right in the face, but was stopped by something he saw.


	8. Chapter 8

So, first off, I wanted to tell one reader, Mala, something. I know this was a bit of a wait, but hey, I wanted to make sure it was right.

This is a long chapter, since I didn't want to break up the story.

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Chapter 8

An arrow came flying right at the mercenary and he didn't have time to dodge. The regular tipped arrow went right for his arm and pierced the control, but also stuck into Deathstroke's flesh.

"AHHHHHH. Where did that…." Deathstroke angrily said as he looked in the direction the arrow came from after physically removing it from his arm.

Just as he looked toward the door, he saw Speedy standing against the wall holding his bow out.

"You really thought I'd stay away." Speedy said, still weak from the pain of the probes. The young archer, once he gathered his strength, headed over to Robin and Cardinal, relief on his face that other than the pain from the probes, they were alright.

"Speedy, get them out of here, we'll take care of Deathstroke." Batman said when he saw the three sidekicks together.

Speedy only nodded and turned his attention to the twins. After checking that they could walk, and tending to Robin's rope burns; they headed for the door, but all three stopped when they heard four gunshots. The three young heroes turned around and saw Batman and Green Arrow on the ground, two bullet wounds in each of their sides.

"We have to go!" Speedy hollered as Cardinal took off toward her father.

"I'm not leaving him here." Cardinal hollered back, and that's when the young archer noticed that Robin was gone too.

Sounds of fighting could be heard, and Speedy saw that Robin was fighting with Deathstroke to protect his sister, but what was she going to accomplish was the young archer's

mind. Speedy headed over to see what Cardinal was doing, and that's when he saw it. The young fire controller was inspecting the wounds on Batman and then singeing the skin closed.

"Arrow, I can heal your wounds, but it will hurt, I have to burn your skin so you won't bleed out." Cardinal said as she moved on to Green Arrow after Batman nodded that he was okay.

"Just do it." Green Arrow said through the pain the bullets caused.

Speedy didn't know what was happening, it's like the twins were totally different people now that Batman had taken those bullets. The young archer saw Robin could take care of himself, so he made sure Cardinal was protected while she closed his mentor's wounds.

"Just because you close those wounds little Cardinal, doesn't mean he will be able to fight." Deathstroke said, knowing Green Arrow couldn't handle being shot.

"Green Arrow may not can, but I'm ready for round two." A voice said and everyone looked to see Batman already on his feet. "Robin, I have this, get your sister and Green Arrow out of here; Speedy, protect them."

Robin only nodded as he flipped away from Deathstroke to help Cardinal make sure Green Arrow was able to be moved. Speedy also nodded, even though the Dark Knight couldn't see, and had his bow ready with an arrow should the mercenary get past Batman for any reason. The twins were able to help Green Arrow, but were not tall enough to get him standing, but he did stand and used the Gotham sidekicks as braces in case he lost his balance. The four heroes headed out of the room and left Batman to keep Deathstroke busy.

"Well, it seems you taught them more than I thought." Deathstroke said as he tried to kick the Dark Knight, but missed as Batman jumped back.

"You'll never get near them again." Batman said, and with that, it's like he released a part of himself that was rarely seen.

Deathstroke took hit after hit because he couldn't follow Batman's style anymore, and even after he was down, the Dark Knight continued to beat him.

"How?" Deathstroke questioned as he struggled to get up.

"You can threaten to kill me, but if you ever mess with Robin and Cardinal again, you will have hell to pay." Batman said as he was able to roundhouse kick to the mercenary's head.

Deathstroke was thrown from the force of the kick, and Batman started walking over to him. One thing that caught Batman by surprise was that Deathstroke had discreetly pulled his dagger from his right boot and when the Gotham vigilante got close enough, he was stabbed, and Deathstroke was laughing.

"Did you really think you could beat me, Batman." Deathstroke said as he pulled the dagger out of Batman and watched him stammer backward holding his stomach.

All the Dark Knight could do was glare at the mercenary, but that didn't do anything but receive an unseen smile. The blood lose finally took its toll as Batman fell to his knees. Deathstroke was slowly moving in for the final blow, when he heard a whooshing sound. The badly injured mercenary took his attention off of Batman and saw a trick arrow coming his way.

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Five Minutes Earlier

The twins and Speedy had gotten Green Arrow to safety while Batman started to fight Deahtstroke. Speedy was at his mentor's side after Robin and Cardinal carefully set him down.

"Not bad work Cardinal." Green Arrow said when he inspected his side as much as he could.

"Well, two years of practice is paying off. It's second nature to me to seal wounds in the field." Cardinal said as she seemed embarrassed for the praise.

"I'm impressed." Speedy said, not having any other words.

"We have to go back." Robin stated. "GA's safe."

"No, he's keeping Deathstroke busy to protect you guys, and I'm sure all of his probe controls are gone." Cardinal said, actually showing some common sense. "Don't worry bro, if anyone can come out of this, it's Batman."

"Your sister is right, but, just to be safe; I'll go check on him at a safe distance." Green Arrow said as he started to stand. The twins and Speedy tensed when the older archer winced, but he grabbed his bow from his protégé and headed to the opening that lead to where the Dark Knight was.

The Emerald Archer got to the door just in time to see Deathstroke stab Batman. Since he wasn't steady on his feet he propped himself against the doorway and found the trick arrow he was looking for. Once it was knocked, he took aim and when Batman was down on his knees and Deathstroke was walking toward him, Green Arrow took the shot.

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Batman and Deathstroke

When Deathstoke saw the arrow, he did jump back, but when it hit the ground right at the mercenary's feet it started to ooze something. The mercenary was quickly consumed by whatever the ooze was. Once the ooze seemed to solidify right below Deathstroke's neck, Green Arrow along with all three protégés headed out to check on Batman. Robin and Cardinal seemed to be almost in tears when they saw the blood coming from the small unprotected part of their mentor/father's stomach.

"Let's get him out of here, and then we will take care of Deathstroke." Green Arrow said.

"so there's not so much blood loss, I need to close this wound, but who will fix it." Cardinal stated

"What about…" Robin started, not wanting to say the person's name out loud.

"Oh right, he's done this kind of stuff before." Cardinal said as she pulled up Batman's Kevlar vest just enough to get access to the wound and Robin held it closed so his sister could close it.

"Are you going to say, or do we have to guess." Speedy stated, wondering why they were just dancing around it.

"Can't; not with Deathstroke able to hear us, but Batman will be alright until we get to the cave." Cardinal stated.

Green Arrow knew that Batman had trained the kids well, and that they were very careful about identities when in the field. He picked up Batman under one arm, and Speedy went to the other side and helped his mentor get the Dark Knight out of the room and to the Cycle the two leaguers used to get there. Robin and Cardinal said they would travel over the roof tops, and Green Arrow sent Speedy along with them.

"Make sure he get picked up." Batman weakly said as he came back to consciousness for a moment.

"I already contacted the SCPD, they will be here soon, he's not getting out of that high density polyurethane foam anytime soon." Green Arrow said as he started up the cycle and headed back home to get Batman patched up by an expert.

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It took about one hour to get back to Queen Manor, but once they were there; Reiena, with her mask now off, called Wayne Manor and spoke to Alfred. Alfred's side of the conversation was not heard, but Roy and Ollie knew that the elderly butler would be there, and then Reiena walked over to them after cutting the transmission through her comm.

While Ollie got Batman prepared to have his wound patched up; Roy took the twins upstairs, as much as they protested and wanted to stay with their father. It wasn't long before Alfred came through the zeta tubes into the Arrow Cave.

"Oh my, Miss Reiena was not wrong, this is bad." Alfred said after her check the wound that Cardinal had closed up.

"I've seen Bruce do this kind of stuff, but Dick and Reiena are incredible." Ollie said as he went to get the medical supplies.

"Oh this is nothing, Master Oliver. When Miss Reiena and Masters Dick and Bruce encountered Joker; Miss Reiena was very brave, but she took two knife wounds to her arm. Master Dick has also been very brave. Sure they are young, but the twins have every bit the same bravery as Master Bruce." Alfred said as he was using the scalpel to break apart the singe work that Cardinal did.

"Alfred, I just don't see how they do it, Roy only started last year, but the twins have been doing this for two years already." Ollie remarked as he helped Alfred care for the Dark Knight.

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Up in the manor, Dick and Reiena seemed to be zombies, but Roy had brought in some hot chocolate. The twins each took a mug and slowly sipped on it.

"Oh my god, Bruce will never forgive me; I stole from him then attacked him with everything I had." Reiena said as she started tearing up.

"Come on Rei, you did it to protect Dick. Bruce understood, remember, I was with him and Ollie the whole time. He figured that Deathstroke was doing something to Dick that was keeping you cooperative." Roy said, trying to calm the girl down.

"Still, it wasn't right, I even stole from Ollie." Reiena said as the tears from her eyes started to fall into her hot chocolate.

"Sis, you figured out a way to get information to Bruce and even though you had to fight him, you were only trying to keep me from being hurt." Dick said as he set his mug on the table and comforted his sister.

"What makes it even worse, is that I infected you with the same probes that MONSTER used on Dick, Roy I'm so sorry." Reiena said as she did calm down some but tears still fell from her eyes.

"I don't blame you, Rei; I don't have any siblings, but I do see that you went to great lengths to keep Dick safe." Roy said as his face softened; seeing his new friend in so much pain from the past few days.

The twins didn't know what to say, first Wally was accepting and they even grew to be more than just friends over the short time they were together on that mission against Scarecrow and Captain Cold. They looked over to Roy and both gave him a smile.

"What about the probes, if Deathstroke gets free, he'll just activate them again." Robin said as he thought about the pain.

"Before we left to save you guys, Bruce started running the formula and it should be done soon." Roy said.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Back in the cave, Alfred was finishing up with Bruce, and the Dark Knight was starting to wake up.

"It's good to see you doing alright, Master Bruce, I took care of the wounds on your side, and the knife wound. Master Ollie, I should tend to your wounds as well, since I'm here." Alfred said.

"Cardinal closed them." Ollie said.

"That's only a temporary fix, until we could get to Alfred." Bruce said as he looked from Alfred to Ollie.

"Before I do, I must go let the children know that Master Bruce is awake." Alfred said and with that he headed out of the cave.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The protégés were talking in the kitchen when Roy saw a shadow heading their way. The twins saw the archer tense and when they turned around, jumped out of their seats and into Alfred's arms.

"It's good to see that you two are okay. Thank you for protecting them, Master Roy." Alfred said as he hugged the twins then looked to the young archer.

"Is Bruce alright?" Dick asked.

"Yes; Miss Reiena, your closure work is improving, and he is awake, I figured you would want to see him." Alfred answered, and the twins were out of there at a speed that would make Barry and Wally jealous.

"They have a relationship unlike any I've ever seen." Roy said to the elderly butler.

"Indeed they do, as the children and Master Bruce share something that no child should experience, the loss of their family." Alfred said.

"I lost my dad and lived on a reservation, and then Ollie took me in." Roy said as he and Alfred headed to the cave.

"I understand that the Native American that raised you is also the one that taught you to use a bow." Alfred said.

"Yes, and when I came to live with Ollie, he helped me take that skill even further." Roy said as they got close to the medical bed Bruce was on, and the twins were carefully hugging him.

"Don't worry, kids, I'll be alright, but if it hadn't been for you Reiena, I would have lost too much blood." Bruce said, and Reiena seemed to blush.

"We couldn't stay hidden after we saw that, and when Ollie used that high density polyurethane foam, we didn't have to worry about Deathstroke attacking us." Dick said.

"Bruce, what about the probes?" Reiena asked, hoping her father was able to start the process.

"Yes, the best way is to inject it, and then it will take about a day to completely remove them." Bruce said as he tried to get up.

"Bruce, you'll tear your stitches." Roy said, worried after seeing the size of the wound in the field.

"Don't try it Roy, you have no idea how stubborn he can be." Dick said as Bruce headed over to the computer.

Five minutes later, Bruce produced three syringes with a purple looking liquid. Dick and Reiena were ready, but Roy was a bit hesitant. After seeing that the twins were alright, seeing as Deathstroke may have used a false file in his computer, Roy was ready to get the injection that would clear him of those nanoscopic probes.

"We shouldn't head back to Gotham till we are sure that the probes are gone, but Alfred, you can head home." Bruce said after pulling the syringe out of the 16 year old.

"Very well sir." Alfred said as he headed to the Zeta Tubes.

After Alfred headed home, Roy had a thought. "How come you guys didn't use the zeta tubes to get here?"

"You three are not authorized to use them, so we had to use the Batjet." Bruce said.

"Alright, I'll buy that one." Roy said as he was satisfied with the answer.

"Why don't you three head back upstairs and order some pizza." Ollie said. "Bruce needs a bit more time down here before he comes up."

The twins were happy with the mention of pizza, and Roy headed out with him. Ollie turned to Bruce with a slight smile.

"I figured you'd get injured, but not this bad." Ollie said.

"At least Reiena was here, I can't tell you how many times I've almost died in the field since those two came into my life, but with Cardinal around, I was able to make it home alive." Bruce said and with that, he started toward the manor.

Ollie wasn't going to try anything to keep the Dark Knight in the cave, and headed out. One thing Ollie knew was that those twins were going to be a good change for Batman, and he hated that they had to lose their whole family just for them to come into Bruce's life. After thinking on this, the emerald archer headed out to join his ward and the Gotham heroes to wait for the pizza.

* * *

Well, that's the end of this one, I hope it wasn't too bad after they got back to the arrow cave. So, I'm going to be doing a couple of one shots, and a three chapter story.


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